Insolvency of THOMAS COOK

The news that has recently been published in the press regarding the bankruptcy of THOMAS COOK GROUP is giving rise to a sense of bewilderment among tour operators because, in addition to the publication of somewhat contradictory information in the specialized and general press, the fact that the event is still very recent and in constant evolution. Although the confirmed information comes with a dropper, to certain confirmed facts we can give them the credit they deserve. On Monday, September 23, the industry woke up to the news of the bankruptcy of THOMAS COOK GROUP, PLC, the largest tour operator in the United Kingdom and the second in the world, which left, according to verified information, some 600,000 travelers abandoned worldwide, of whom 150,000 are British passengers. The Group owned 105 aircraft, owned 200 hotel complexes operating under its brand, and sold tour packages to customers around the world. To date, there are 51 affected tourist destinations located in 16 countries where the tour operator was operating. Today's date is on the THOMAS COOK GROUP website https://www.thomascookgroup.com/ that the company, with the agreement of the Management, has entered into mandatory liquidation with immediate effect as of September 23. Notwithstanding the above, the collapse of THOMAS COOK GROUP does not mean the automatic bankruptcy of all the companies owned by the Group. For example, even if Thomas Cook is 100% owner of Norwegian Ving, the shares of the former will probably be transferred to creditors who can guarantee the survival of the Scandinavian group. The same group, Thomas Cook Northern Europe (Vinggruppen), includes several hotels under the brands Sunwing Family Resorts, Ocean Beach Club and Sunprime Hotels, which, although initially considered bankrupt, in recent information, it has been declared that they were not. The same is happening with some companies that, although belonging to the Group, their main activity is not related to tourism. All this bombardment of information, which can sometimes be contradictory, is added to others that refer to ATOL coverage, managed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). ATOL (Air Travel Organisers Licensing) coverage is a financial protection system in the United Kingdom that guarantees that all travelers who purchase tourist packages and/or flights there are guaranteed their trips against unforeseen air events. However, ATOL coverage, which is activated the moment they declare bankruptcy, only covers and guarantees the repatriation and stay of those travelers who, at the time the failure occurs, were at their destination and does so for the maximum amount of time that the bankrupt company designed their tourist packages, in this case, 14 days and, therefore, ATOL coverage will only cover repatriations and stays until October 6 of the present. Thus, at Tourism & Law Abogados, we are very aware of the information that is published through official bodies and working with different associations in the sector so that tourism entrepreneurs are advised and aware at all times of the real scope of the situation in order to minimize the consequences of its impact.

José Luis Valencia (T&L Attorney)